Turkey’s Role as a ‘Trans-European’ Energy Corridor

Abstract

Pronounced European Union (EU) reliance on oil and gas imports is exacerbated by the nature and limited number of its source regions. As Russia supplies one-quarter of EU gas consumption and 40 per cent of its total import requirements, while Middle Eastern Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) states account for a slightly larger fraction of the EU’s imported oil, it makes political–economic sense for the EU to diversify its supply sources (European Commission, 2001, p. 2). Nonetheless, despite advocating greater diversification of energy sources and suppliers, the European Commission (Ibid., pp. 22–3) understands that the present profile of EU hydrocarbon dependence on Russia, the Caspian, the Middle East and North Africa is unlikely to change markedly. Especially in the context of EU–Russian energy relations, the EU has recognised Turkey’s potential value as a relatively secure and independent route for importing non-Russian energy supplies (Tekin and Walterova, 2007). This chapter analyses the role of Turkey as an independent (of Russia) conduit for third-party (notably Caspian and Middle Eastern) energy supplies to Europe, while remaining cognisant of the distinct possibility that Turkey, which is also highly dependent on Russian energy (especially gas) supplies, could also emerge as a new conduit for routing these supplies to the EU area.